Daiza Dowren
Andrei Rianofski was born in Russia during the time when the Tsar still held autocratic rule over the country. In 1917 he witnessed the Russian Revolution which catapulted the Bolshevik Party into power. Rianofski's experiences under Soviet rule led him to his personal philosophy: the modern world was created by great men who strove to make their own way. Anytime "parasites" gained control of such a world, they destroyed it (as the Soviets did "trading one lie for another," the autocratic rule of the Tsar for the repressions of Bolshevism). In 1919 he anglicized his name to Daiza Dowren and fled Russia to go to America, believing it to be a place where a great man could prosper. For a time, he was devoted to his adopted country, grateful for the wealth and fame it awarded his intellect and determination. However, the state social programs adopted in the 30s increasingly tested that devotion. His experiences in the "worker's paradise" made Daiza despise the ideals of Socialism, believing that those who benefited from others were parasites (e.g. he considered Roosevelt and his "New Dealers" to be the ones "spoon-feeding" Americans on the "Bolshevik Poison"). In his mind, one could only own what one earned. For instance, he once owned a large forest as a personal retreat, one that many groups envied (one group told him that it "belonged to God," demanding that he establish a public park there). When the government attempted to nationalize it as parkland, Dowren's response was to burn it to the ground so no one could have it. The final straw for Daiza was the destruction of Hiroshima with the atomic bomb. In his eyes, the bomb was the ultimate corruption of his ideals — science and determination harnessed for destruction, creating a weapon that gave the parasites the ability to destroy anything that they could not seize. Dowren's response was to use his entire fortune to build Rapture; a community where "the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, where the great would not be constrained by the small," in the only place he felt the parasites could not touch — the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. He created a shield company on the surface named Warden Yarn (an anagram of his name), and through it he conducted business with suppliers, such as Orrin Lutwidge's Scarlet Sovereign Import and Export, to receive materials necessary to build his city. When Rapture was completed, Daiza filled it with several thousand of the world's best and brightest, and for a time, it was everything he dreamed it would be, a paradise of freedom and prosperity. From 1946 to 1958, Rapture experienced tremendous economic progress, and solid political stability. As Daiza predicted, citizens in Rapture created a culture of entrepreneurship that was unrivaled, with numerous businesses established and unprecedented scientific advancement, culminating in the discovery of ADAM by Brigid Tenenbaum. The full implications of the Plasmid market were not immediately appreciated by Daiza, who dismissed the concerns of men like Rosenberg and Bill McDonagh. Dowren's failure to understand the ramifications of the burgeoning ADAM-based culture resulted in the rise of a little-known Fishery owner named Frank Fontaine. With Rapture at its apogee, Daiza ensured that his greatest supporters maintained control in various sectors of the city. This included Sander Cohen in Fort Frolic and J.S. Steinman in the Medical Pavilion. Daiza also hired a man named Carlson Fiddle to build Dowren Amusements, a theme park that doubled as a propaganda tool for the children of Rapture. Daiza himself provided narration to many of the rides and animatronic set pieces which attempted to warn children of the evils of the surface. This theme park embraced the city's new ADAM-culture, exalting Plasmid technologies like Incinerate! in the Hall of the Future section of the park. Daiza Dowren is rarely seen outside his private quarters now, preferring to remain locked inside so he can continue playing video games with his online friends. Category:People